Waka Premium Instant Columbian Coffee, Decaffeinated Med Roast, 8 Servings

Lately, my husband and I have been enjoying adding coffee to our morning green smoothies—the slight bitterness adds a lovely contrast to the sweetness of our smoothie. I ran out of our regular coffee protein so I bought freeze-dried coffee to add to our smoothies. Most instant coffees are for hot drinks and would not dissolve in cold water. I was happy when I found this one. The coffee protein powder we had been using was Arabica coffee and tasted great, so I was hesitant to try a new product because I was worried it might taste too different. Since this one is also Arabica, I decided to try. It's a little lacking in depth of flavor, but the taste is not bad and it dissolves quickly in cold water with ice. The quality seems good and one teaspoon is enough for a batch of Vitamix smoothie. It lasts for several months. I'd definitely buy it again

Amazing taste! I do 1 tsp for every cup of water (I.e. 2 cups of water =2 tsp of coffee) and added a hazelnut creamer and my goodness the taste was incredible!!!! WAY better than a drive through coffee shop charging 6 dollars plus tip! Buy this instead!!!

I waited to review this until I had finished the whole package. Full disclosure: I’m not a fancy coffee connoisseur, just a casual, one-cup-in-the-morning kind of drinker. I only enjoy hot coffee, and I drink it black. My only other instant coffee consumption prior to this was Folgers, which I did have in my cupboard for comparison. I felt like the Waka was better than the Folgers in every way except for the price and the container. Folgers has a very distinct smell and taste, which I do like in a sort of nostalgia kind of way. When I compared the two, I found Waka to have more of a freshly-brewed coffee smell and taste, if that makes sense, which I enjoyed. The only thing I found problematic with Waka was the zip closure on the bag. About halfway through the coffee, the zip came loose from the bag, so I had to roll it up and zip it inside another zip bag to keep it fresh. This was inconvenient enough to drop one star for the packaging.

I have been a fan of another brand of instant coffee for years. Always have a tiny container in my purse. Coffee on the go. Waka is a game changer. When you add hot water, you get crema! Cold water, delicious ice coffee. The instructions say add 8 to 12 ounces of water. I like strong, dark coffee. I use 5 ounces of hot water or 2 packs with 8 ounces of cold water over ice Delicious!

Edit: I tried a few other well-liked "premium" instant coffee brands. I particularly like one of them, which tasted lot less like instant coffee, as promised. Now, that was worth paying extra. However, Waka still gets ONE star. Waka coffee has been sitting in the corner of my cubicle, gathering resentment. I'm trying a cup again (maybe its 9th chance or something), and it's still far inferior to some other instant coffee brands. I wasn't even hoping for a freshly brewed taste, just something better than a cheap grocery store instant coffee, and Waka fails even that. I've been thinking if Waka repacks those cheap instant coffee and resells them. Might as well. -------------------------------------------- I love my coffee. However, sometimes life is just too busy (or I'm just too tired) to brew anything but instant coffee. Well, instant coffees are not great, but it's the trade off with the convenience. Now, this Waka had all these advert buzz words- "We bring the instant back," "like brewed cup"... NOT AT ALL... It tastes like other instant coffee brands, and actually worse than other cheaper brands. There's absolutely no mistaking this for a cup of non-instant coffee (whatever brew method you use.) It still has the distinct taste/flavor of instant coffee. It has acidity, but it's not brightness like a cup of fresh brewed coffee should have. If a cup of fresh brewed coffee is "citrus", Waka has more of a "vinegar." Overall, absolutely disappointing product. Contrary to some marketing blogs, Waka fails to deliver better instant coffee- it's just another instant coffee. Save money and just get a grocery store instant coffee. That's the lesson I learned. There's no secret or revolution in instant coffee here- maybe better marketing.